Fishy
by Hollyflash
Summary: When asked if you want to throw fish at Pariah Dark's wife, the smart typically don't allow themself to be bribed into a yes. That probably says nothing good about Clockwork. Two-shot
1. Part 1: Fishy

My hand slipped for a week straight. That and I _really_ didn't want to write my essay.

So, as some of you know, I have this thing I call my Timeline Theory. I use this to connect all my Danny Phantom stories, since they take place on a bunch of different Timelines. The Timelines were caused during the Time War, which was caused by the fall of Pariah Dark. So basically, Pariah went crazy and caused a war. Before all this, when he was still sane, there was only one Timeline- this is known as Original.

Now, this area had a lot of stuff happen in it. For context reasons, I'll tell you that the previous Master of Time, Father Time, wouldn't train Clockwork because he didn't him. This led to Clockwork being trained by Pariah and Fright Knight, who though knew how to fight they had about half a clue as to how time-based powers worked. Clockwork had a friend named Tardis at this point in time, so they gave her a bit of training as well. Pariah also had a wife, Mary, who I already explained on Tumblr and there's a link on my profile if you want to read me talking about her.

So, yeah. I think that's all the background you need. As a rule of thumb when I'm writing in this area of my Timeline Theory, if the character is an OC they probably die during the Time War. But still, I'll give you a quick summery of the few who are important for this part;

**Time Twister:** The guy who was supposed to be the next Master of Time. Clockwork and him have the exact same power set and are frenemies of sorts. Time Twister refuses to admit that the other apprentices- Cronius, Elijah, Ophelia, and Castalia- are horrible people. Same with Father Time. My best friend LoveWritingStories created him.

**Raine:** Technically one of Pariah's maids, though she also functions as a nanny to his children. She's the same physical age as Clockwork is. Raine typically acts cold and disconnected from everyone around her, claiming she just doesn't care. Her 'mom' is another maid.

**Mary:** Pariah wife. His children are actually her's; he just sort of adopted them. She loves her husband, but isn't afraid to tell him when she thinks he's doing something stupid. Which, to be honest, is most of the time.

And uh, yeah. Hello to everyone who didn't leave instead of reading that? Yeah. Enjoy.

* * *

><p><span>Fishy<span>

Clockwork floated back from the large towers of rocks he'd managed to create. It resembled a castle, almost. It was definitely extravagant and he was extremely proud of it. Building this had taken days, and it was a miracle the tower hadn't fallen in on itself yet. This was by far the most amazing thing he'd ever created.

_Well, time to blow it up._

Coating the tiny pebbles he held in his hands in unstable ectoplasm, he threw them forwards. They burst into blasts of green, and the rock towers exploded outward. Clockwork calmly raised a violet shield to protect him from the blast, smiling as the land around the Time Tower was covered in a thick layer of fine rock-dust.

Clockwork smirked, "Have fun training in _this,_ Time Twister." He teleported, ending up back in his room. It was plain, with little more than a bed in it. _One day,_ he decided, _I'm going to make this even fancier than all of the others' combined._

"Hey, Clockwork!" He'd only been there for a second before Time Twister had entered his room, a bucket in his hands. Clockwork quickly turned around, facing the brown-haired ghost.

"Why are you in my room?"

"Because you just blew something up in the courtyard," He ignored Clockwork's sudden horror, "And I want to know what it was."

Clockwork swallowed, "I- I didn't do anything. Nope, nothing. I've been here this whole time."

"Convincing," Time Twister replied, setting the bucket down. He changed his physical age, becoming younger so he matched Clockwork's form. "Whatever it was, you'd better clean it up. Father Time is _not _going to be happy."

"What's the worst he'll do? Try to kill me again? Not train me?" Clockwork crossed his arms, "Oh, wait."

Time Twister sighed, running a hand down his face. "Look, when I'm Master of Time I'll make sure you get some training, okay?"

"Sure you will Twister," Clockwork said, choosing not to comment on how he'd ignored the more violent of the events. "You totally won't be busy being the Observants' little dog or anything." He ignored the glare that earned him, "I'll stick to training with Pariah and Fright Knight, thanks."

Time Twister stepped back, "You should be training with us."

"Yeah, probably." Clockwork shrugged, "But unlike you, I'm not too good at doing the bidding of everyone else. I guess that's why I won't be the next Master of Time and you will."

"Are you done?" When Clockwork didn't reply, Time Twister continued. "Honestly, you're so bad tempered today. Did Cronius push you down the stairs again?"

"It was Elijah, it wasn't the stairs, and that's not the point."

"Really? Elijah?" Time Twister frowned, "You could've just said that something distracted you and you forgot how to fly, the truth is much more believable than that stupid lie about Elijah. You're just jealous because he likes Tardis."

"No! I hate him because he's a violent little-"

"That's how he shows affection!"

"Pushing people out windows is _not a form of affection!_"

Time Twister stopped, "You fell out a window and are trying to blame it on Elijah?"

Clockwork nearly screamed, "No! You _absolute-"_ He stopped, trying to calm himself. Pariah would not be happy if he did something stupid and made a fool of himself. "You're just doing this to annoy me now, aren't you?"

"Don't be ridiculous, I'm not trying to annoy you." He motioned to the bucket, "I need your help with something. Cronius and I found this and well, he kind of dared me to do something…"

Clockwork made a face, "Ew."

"Not like that!" Time Twister huffed, "Look, it's a bucket of fish okay? And I have to-"

"Fish?" Clockwork cut him off, quickly moving to Time Twister's side. _"Live_ fish? Can I have them?!"

"No!" Time Twister shoved him back, "Fish _corpses."_ He ignored Clockwork's horror, "And we're going to throw them at Mary."

Clockwork blinked twice, glancing at the bucket of fish corpses. "Do you have a death wish? Let's throw fish- something she absolutely hates because she thinks they look weird- at the _Ghost Queen?!_ She already doesn't really like me!"

"No one does," Time Twister replied evenly, not noticing that his words had a similar reaction as striking Clockwork would have. "Come on, just help me! I can't do this alone, and you know how to get around the keep better than anyone else."

"So does Tardis," Clockwork said, spectral tail flicking back and forth. "Why don't you go ask her?"

"The girls are doing something with Father Time and I really don't want to interrupt them. Look, just help me with the fish thing, okay? I'll train you if you do!"

Clockwork raised an eyebrow, "Train me to do what?"

"How to… manipulate the time stream so you can see the different paths!" He smiled, "So are you in?"

Ignoring his gut feeling telling him this was a very bad idea, Clockwork smiled back. "Deal."

.-.-.-.-.-.

"If we end up having our ectoplasm used as paint, I'm going to blame you."

"I thought you were supposed to be the optimistic one," Time Twister replied, floating the bucket of fish beside him. "Where are those barriers Pariah said he'd be making? I can't see them."

"That's the point," Clockwork rolled his eyes, "If you could see them, you'd be able to get through them. When you can't find them, you can't… oh, I don't know, throw fish at his wife."

"Clockwork, you agreed to help me-"

"No, I agreed to being able to figure out how to do one of the first things everyone but me was taught." He crossed his arms, staring at the Keep. "The fact that I have to throw fish corpses at someone is the part I'm not looking forward to and probably will still regret in a thousand years."

"Clockwork, let's be honest. You'll probably be destroyed in a thousand years so it won't matter." He ignored the rude gesture Clockwork made towards him. "So. How do we get in?"

"Well, you get in by putting one foot in front of the other and moving across the ground until you reach the door. And then you reach out a hand and push it open." Clockwork smiled, ignoring Time Twister's annoyed expression. "However, if you're talking about the barriers… then do exactly what I just said. They aren't up right now, and even if they were he set them up so you could pass through them."

Time Twister seemed thrown off, and it was a few long moments before he spoke again. "Why?"

"Because he trusts you," Clockwork answered, "And just in case it wasn't clear, throwing fish at his wife is probably a violation of that trust."

"Probably? Oh, I'm fine then." He rolled his shoulders back, "Well, let's go. Lead on."

With a sigh, Clockwork moved forwards into the dark red lair. It was more of a home to him than the Time Tower had ever been, and entering it like this just seemed wrong. Pariah trusted him, but being able to manipulate the Timeline so he could see the different parts… _everyone_ could do that! Even the Observants could! It was only him and the girls who couldn't, since Father Time refused to train them. Clockwork could still remember the fit Tardis had pitched when she'd learned that, and smiled faintly at the memory.

"Are you thinking about Tardis?" Time Twister teased, making a kissy face.

"N-no!" Clockwork replied, face flushing. "Shut up or I'll go find Raine."

Time Twister rolled his eyes at the mention of Pariah's youngest maid. "Yeah, right. She scares you."

"No she doesn't!"

"Hello."

Clockwork pretty much jumped back in shock, bumping into Time Twister. "Raine! Don't sneak up on me!"

The blue-skinned ghost blew a stray strand of black hair out of her face. "No. Who's your buddy? Or did Tardis decide to cut her hair and opt for her brother's clothes instead of her own?"

Clockwork was silent for a moment, "Raine, you know who Time Twister is."

Time Twister hid the bucket of fish behind himself, "Hello. I've heard many wonderful things about y-"

"Don't lie to me, no you haven't." Raine cut him off, staring at the bucket of fish. "Clockwork, why are you near him? He's going to take over for Father Time. I've heard the stories about what that man did from Fright Knight- him and anyone he trains is dangerous."

"Hey, he's not that bad!" Time Twister spoke up, "Sure, almost murdering Clockwork so Pariah would stop trying to be royalty was not his brightest move-"

"Almost?" Raine scoffed, "Turning a small child into a puddle of ectoplasm isn't in the category of 'almost.'"

"Can you both stop talking about the time I almost died?!" Clockwork snapped, digging his fingernails into the fabric of his gloves. He moved his head, hoping it would pull up the hood he always wore before it slipped. The incident Raine and Twister spoke of had left a green handprint where he'd been grabbed, and Clockwork preferred if it stayed hidden.

"Why? It's relevant to our current situation," Raine's gaze swept over the two of them, before focusing on the bucket Time Twister had tried to hide. "Are there blood blossoms in there?"

"No!" Both of the boys replied, Clockwork digging his nails deeper into his palms.

"It's full of fish corpses," Clockwork added on, ignoring Time Twister's motions for him to stop. "We're going to throw them at Mary so that Timey here will train me. We'll pick them up afterwards, so you and your mom won't have to." He reached through the bucket, pulling out one of the fish and throwing it at Pariah's maid. She almost didn't catch it. "There, a bribe. Now go away and don't tell anyone we're here so that we can get this over with and go home."

Raine stared at the fish for a moment before turning on her heels and starting to walk away. "If I have to clean anything up I'm telling my mom about everything. Keep it tidy, boys- and don't let the children see. Having to deal with those two trying to be you is the last thing I need."

Both of the boys were silent for a few minutes after she left. "You called me Timey."

"Would you rather I called you Twisty Tie?" Rolling his eyes, Clockwork motioned for Time Twister to follow. "She won't sell us out until after you've done your thing."

"Until _we've_ done our thing," Time Twister replied, moving after Clockwork. "You're in this too, whether you like it or-"

Clockwork slammed a hand over Time Twister's mouth, quickly pulling him back and turning the both invisible. Pariah's wife, Queen Mary, looked over where they both of them floated. She stared at where they were for a moment longer before leaning against a wall, massaging the sides of her head.

Flashing Clockwork a thankful smile, Time Twister reached toward his neck with his free hand. He clasped it around the small white and black rock he had hung around his neck. At least, they were pretty sure it was a rock. To be honest, Clockwork wasn't entirely sure what it was. Time Twister channeled his power into it, and Clockwork felt the familiar thick feeling of frozen time. Though he was safe, Mary was not- only anyone who was a Time Manipulator, Time Master, or an Observant would be safe from the effects of it. They'd likely be able to reverse it as well.

"You really need to teach me how to do that without saying anything," Clockwork said, looking hopefully at Time Twister.

The two returned to the visible plane, and Time Twister rolled his eyes. "Why? When are you ever going to need it?"

"I-" Clockwork frowned, "Whatever. So what's your master plan now? Pelt her with fish while she's frozen in time?"

Time Twister stared at him for a moment, "You really think I'd do something that bland? No, it's cheating and stupid- if I'm doing this I'm doing it right."

"What's wrong with cheating?" Clockwork asked, "As long as you do what you were trying to do, does it matter how you got there?"

There was a pause as Time Twister made some sort of stringy substance from green ectoplasm. "Yes, it does. Now," He held up the structure he'd made. "Make some of these and line it with fish, like so." He nodded towards the bucket, telekinetically lining the string with a row of fish. "Then stick it somewhere," He put his on a wall, dusting his hands off. "It'll launch when we unfreeze time. And that Dil is my master plan."

Clockwork copied the ectoplasm string, glaring at Time Twister. "Don't call me that."

"Don't call me Timey then." Time Twister replied, making another fish string. "Or Twisty Tie, or whatever other nickname of the week you and Tardis can think of."

Clockwork reached into the bucket, sticking fish to his string. Time Twister finished his second and moved onto his third. "Peppermint Twist?"

Time Twister stared at Clockwork for a few moments, "…Do you even know what that is?"

"Do you?"

"You're the one who said it."

"So?" Clockwork shrugged, going back to his fish string. "I make stuff up sometimes. That just sounded like it was real- like a drink, or a dessert."

"Well, I've never heard of it." Time Twister said, emptying a third of the bucket's contents onto one extremely long string. "You really need to stop making stuff up. Nobody's going to like you if you don't."

"Nobody likes me already," Clockwork pointed out. "Except for Tardis, Pariah, and his kids, nobody really likes me."

"Why would his kids like you?" Time Twister asked, "Didn't you lock his son in a room without a floor one time?"

"That was once an irrelevant."

"Didn't he draw a mural of you dying on the roof, too?"

"_It was once and irrelevant!_"

Time Twister slapped his string onto a wall, grabbing Clockwork's and putting it up too. "Don't be so fussy. I was only teasing, you don't need to overreact."

Clockwork groaned, moving away from the other ghost. "I would argue with you, but it might turn me stupid."

"Stupidity doesn't go from one ghost to the next," Time Twister said. "Father Time would've told me if there was anyone with that power set, and Pariah would've told you."

"Yeah, sure, because he totally tells me things." Clockwork muttered, starting on another string. "Always has, always will!"

"Are you still mad about that?" Time Twister rolled his eyes, "He was trying to protect you. Can't you let it go?"

"Uh, no." Giving up with doing it the way he had been, Clockwork dumped the remainder of the fish onto his string. "I have a right to know when someone- especially someone I have to live with- wants me dead. So I'm going to keep being upset about that, because I still hate how he didn't tell me you keep defending everyone!" He threw the string at a wall, watching as one end stuck and the other slowly trailed down.

"Stop overreacting, seriously." Time Twister said, looking proudly at the walls. "Well, this is it-"

"To be honest," A voice spoke up, time starting up again a breath before it did so. Both boys looked back to see Raine, hiding just out of Mary's sight. "I think he has every right to be upset."

"What the absolute-" Mary's voice was cut off as the strings activated, flinging fish after fish at her. She screamed, and Clockwork felt Time Twister pull him to the ground. There were a few long moments before either of them raised their heads.

Mary had caught most of the fish, turning them into a cloud coated with red energy. A few were stuck in her hair, one sat on her shoulder, and she looked furious. Pariah's wife raised her hands, red energy coating them. The cloud of fish took the shape of a larger fish, and Mary glared at the two ghosts she could see.

"If you value your continued existence," The fish-cloud seemed to speak in sync with Mary, their voices echoing along the hallway. "You will _run."_

"Like I said," Raine's voice was barely above a whisper, and she still stayed out of Mary's sight. "I'm not cleaning that up. And 'that' includes your remains." She kicked the fish Clockwork had given her across the floor, "So don't die."

Clockwork stared at the fish for a second, an absolutely _ridiculous_ idea forming in his mind. But it could work. Maybe.

_It's worth a shot._

Grabbing the fish, Clockwork threw it as hard as he could. He hit Mary between the eyes, throwing off her concentration. The fish-cloud collapsed, falling on top of her.

"Holy-" Time Twister cut himself off, eyes wide and jaw dropped. "Clockwork! You just-"

Clockwork interrupted him, nearly shivering with fear as Time Twister teleported them both outside. "I am so dead."

* * *

><p>Well duh, of course you're dead Clockwork. You're a ghost- oh wait, you meant that Mary's going to destroy you for that.<p>

Yeah you're kind of extra dead then.

There'll be a Part 2 up at some point soon. Maybe. Probably. We hope.

Until then, thoughts?


	2. Part 2: Timey

In which Fright Knight is a third wheel and Pariah Dark is a sane jerk who has a pet bird.

No seriously, he has a pet bird named Squawkers. The short version of that is that Squawkers stole Pariah's hair tie so Pariah tried to beat him up. It didn't work, so Pariah pretty much decided he liked the bird and gave him a ridiculous name. Fright Knight was 110% done with him annnd I'm going to stop rambling now.

So, here we have the other Time Apprentices and Father Time. I'm just going to provide a bit of context about these guys, okay?

Father Time is the previous Master of Time and a complete and utter dick. Seriously, he's like the only one of my OCs which I actually hate. He has the power to melt and/torture people just by placing his hands on them. He also only trains three of his apprentices; Elijah, Cronius, and Time Twister. Those three have ended up becoming very close friends. The other apprentices are Ophelia, who's a time teleporter (traveler), and Castalia, who has an obsession with being the best and is in a relationship with Time Twister. And then there's Tardis, the closest thing Clockwork has to a best friend as they are both extremely annoying children and almost nobody else wants anything to do with them. She was created by LoveWritingStories and her mortal enemy is Castalia.

Just as a side note, please know that the thing Pariah was doing with his voice during Reign Storm is not how he actually sounds in this. He just does that when he's fighting or sparring; Mary calls it his battle voice.

Same rule of thumb as before; if they aren't canon they probably die.

* * *

><p><strong>Part 2;<strong>

Their swords clashed, the sound echoing and ectoplasm pounding in their ears. Pariah Dark stepped back, blocking Fright Knight's attack.

"Give up?" He said, dragging his voice.

Fright Knight relented, stepping back. "If you insist."

Pariah frowned, using his normal voice this time. "I was taunting you. Banter, remember? The thing I do?"

Fright Knight took a moment, trying to understand. "Why must you do that during a training session?"

"To put it simply, because I want to." Pariah set the sword down on a rock beside them, keeping his hand on it until Fright Knight had done the same. "And who else should I banter with besides you? My children? My servants? Squawkers?"

Squawkers, Pariah's pet bird, looked over at them from his perch and squawked.

"I still can't believe you kept that thing," Fright Knight's voice was quiet, but Pariah still heard it.

"And I can't believe my wife figured out a way to seal you in a plant if she decides she doesn't like you." Pariah replied with a smirk. "So don't insult my bird, and I'll keep you on her good side. Are we clear?"

Fright Knight didn't have a chance to reply before Mary was out with them, absolutely furious and with silver bits of something in her hair. "I am going to _destroy _them!"

Pariah exchanged a short glance with Fright Knight before taking a step forwards, reaching a hand out and pulling a fish off of her shoulder. "Mary, uh, you have people who cook for you now. You don't have to-"

"You think I'm covered in this because I was _cooking?!_" She nearly spat, staring up at Pariah. "No honey, I'm covered in this filth because your little _friends_ thought it'd be a good idea to throw them at me!"

Pariah blinked twice before looking over at his bird. "Where'd Squawkers get fish?"

Mary pointed a finger in his face. "You take this seriously or I will light that bird on fire."

"I believe I should leave," Fright Knight said, grabbing his weapon. "I have… something… I must attend to." He left the room, leaving the two alone.

"Mary," Pariah said, trying to calm his enraged wife. "You're talking about Clockwork, aren't you?"

"He had them set up so they'd launch at me!" Mary continued, pulling part of a fish out of her hair. She shuddered as she dropped it on the ground. "I finally got the children to sleep and they just showed up out of nowhere and launched those _things_ at me!"

Pariah raised an eyebrow, rubbing at his one scarred eye. "They?"

"Time Twister was with him," Mary said. "I hate that Time Apprentice. Exactly why does everyone like him?"

Being one of the beings who liked Time Twister, Pariah didn't reply to her question. "Ah, Twist Tie. It certainly sounds twisted enough to be his plan, and the timing of it was perfect." He grinned.

Mary threw a fish at him, hitting Pariah on the nose. "Are you finished?"

"No, I have about seven more." Mary raised another fish, "Fine I'm done! But it does sound like something Twister would do."

"Then why was Clockwork going along with it?" She asked, "He can think for himself, and they aren't even close! If it was Tardis, then I could understand. But _Time Twister?_"

"Perhaps they're trying to rekindle their friendship," Pariah offered. "They were close when they were little. Well, littler." He smiled.

"If you're done teasing beings that aren't here about their height," Mary crossed her arms, "How do you plan on punishing them?"

"I don't believe I'm allowed to," Pariah frowned. "Father Time is the only one who could- they're his apprentices."

"Then refuse to train Clockwork! Punishing one is better than both getting away with this!"

Pariah looked horrified, "I'm not doing that. Mary, you can't expect me to turn my back on him."

"Then exactly what do you plan on doing?"

Pariah hesitated for a short moment before smirking, "Oh, I have an idea. Tell Fright Knight to call the Observants as soon as they can- I have a certain change I need to make."

"Tell him yourself," Mary replied, "I'm your wife, not your servant. Boss me around and I'll shove you in a plant."

Laughing nervously, Pariah made a motion of surrender.

.-.-.-.-.-.

Time Twister hadn't acknowledged Clockwork for days.

"He's a liar," Clockwork said, spectral tail flicking from side to side as he lay on the roof. Tardis sat next to him, pulling apart parts of some ectoplasm blob.

"Yeah, total dick." She looked over, "Who are we talking about?"

"Time Twister," Clockwork said, sitting up. "He said he would train me and he- what are you doing?"

Tardis picked up the ectoplasm blob and the stick she'd been using, leaning over to drop them off the roof. "No idea. Why'd he say he'd train you?"

"Uh…" Clockwork hesitated, quickly deciding it would be better not to mention the events with Mary. She was like a sister to Tardis. "He… said he would if I stopped bringing up the time I saw him and Cronius together." He shuddered at the memory.

"He's definitely the gay twin," Tardis said, a huge grin on her face. "I can't wait until he's out; Castalia's going to flip!"

"Tardis!" Clockwork shoved her, "Be nice."

"You first," She stuck out her tongue, and action which Clockwork copied.

"Am I interrupting something?" A clear voice rang out, and both of them turned to see Ophelia, the time teleporter, floating a little ways away. "If you two are finally admitting your love for each other, I can stall for time."

Clockwork's face twisted, and he moved away from Tardis. "Ew!"

"Hey!" She slapped him on the back of the head, "Shut up. Do you want something?"

"Father Time wants us all to meet him in the main area," Ophelia replied, and Tardis tensed at the mention of the Time Master's name. "Apparently our _great_ and _powerful_ king has made some more changes."

"Ophelia, don't use that tone when talking about him." Clockwork crossed his arms, floating up as Tardis stood. "He hasn't done anything to you. Everything he's ever done has been to help the Ghost Zone."

"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't know you were the entire Ghost Zone," Ophelia replied, straightening up. "Don't get too busy with whatever you were doing that you miss this meeting." She triggered her power, teleporting away. The residual energy pushed both Clockwork and Tardis off the edge of the roof, and they waited until the last possible moment before engaging their ability to fly. The action slowed down their descent enough so they wouldn't be harmed, though the two still landed rather roughly on top of each other.

Clockwork rolled off of Tardis, floating up and pulling her to her feet. "That's one way to get down quickly."

"It's more fun when we know Father Time isn't at the bottom." Tardis said, playing with a couple strands of her hair. "So, we- we just go in, right?"

"Probably," Clockwork said, giving her a curious look. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh, no!" Her smile was obviously fake, "I was just waiting for you!"

"Right," Deciding it was most likely nothing, Clockwork led the way in, throwing the front doors open as dramatically as he could. "I have been summoned?" He called, dramatically.

"Can I punch him?" Elijah asked, black hair falling in his face. Time Twister- who had matched his friends' ages, rolled his eyes from his spot beside him, while the third member of their group, Cronius, nodded enthusiastically.

"Can I join you?" He asked, and Tardis cracked her knuckles as she reached Clockwork's side.

"Can I shove deadly poison down your throat and laugh as you die?" She asked them, sweetly.

Time Twister turned a brilliant shade of green, burying his face in his hands. "Enny," He said, using a nickname from Tardis' human name. "Please, just stop."

Tardis, as she always did when her twin used that nickname, complied.

"So she's not allowed to defend me," Clockwork said, "But they're allowed to insult me. That makes sense."

"So glad you could see it our way," Cronius replied, leaning on Time Twister's shoulder. "Round of applause, everyone!"

"Reality manipulate us and I'll shove my foot up your nose," Tardis said calmly.

"Amazing," A clear, pristine voice rang out as Castalia calmly entered the room, Ophelia at her heels. "You've actually gotten more annoying since I last had the misfortune to be near you."

Tardis' voice dropped, and she spoke a language which only she, Clockwork, and Time Twister knew. "Can I kill her yet?"

"No!" Time Twister called back, speaking the same language. "Hey Talia," He spoke the natural version of ghost now, rushing over to his girlfriend. He kissed her on the lips, ignoring Clockwork's purposely loud gagging noises.

"Excuse me while I find somewhere to throw up," Tardis said, "You think I'd be able to make it to her bed in time?"

Clockwork rolled his eyes. "Tardis, no."

Tardis narrowed her eyes, "Do you still have a crush on her?"

"No," Clockwork groaned. Years ago- centuries, probably- he'd faked a crush on Castalia in hopes he'd be able to get into Time Twister's group of friends. It hadn't worked; Castalia had arranged for him to be left in an area full of beings that were against Pariah's rule. If Tardis hadn't gone to Pariah for help, he probably wouldn't have made it out in one piece. Tardis still didn't believe him when he said he'd faked the crush. At this point, Clockwork just went with it to avoid an argument.

"Everyone!" Ophelia called, "Could we not argue? Father Time will be here within moments, and furious as well."

"Great," Cronius said. "What did Clockwork do this time?"

"Why do you assume it was me?" Clockwork groaned, and Tardis raised her eyebrows.

"Maybe he just got tired of seeing your fat head and wants to melt you."

Time Twister moved to stop the brewing fight, only to be stopped by Castalia. "Leave them, darling." She said, "Their simple arguments are beneath you."

"Simple?" Tardis said, turning towards Castalia. "Oh, like you!"

Castalia glared at Tardis, and Clockwork quietly moved out of the way. "Excuse me?"

"Oh my, do you need an example?" Tardis replied, "Simple is when something is incredibly boring and dumb. Other words for it are stupid, boring, and Castalia."

Time Twister frowned, "That's not what it means. At all."

"You know," Castalia said, "I could've sworn that we were past these ridiculous insults. Or are you just too much of a child to think up any better ones?"

"You're just saying that because you can't think up a reply."

"I simply can't bring myself to stoop to your level."

A blast of force knocked all of them back, cutting off the argument before it got violent. Clockwork sent a glare in Ophelia's direction, knowing that it had been her power which knocked them all over.

"I hate time travel," Tardis muttered, rubbing the back of her head. She hadn't hit it, thankfully. Her death wound was on there, and Clockwork knew that hitting your death wound could easily destroy a ghost.

All the apprentices were sitting quietly when Father Time entered, 'furious' being an understatement to describe his emotions. All seven of them shrunk slightly away, and Clockwork felt Tardis grab onto his arm.

"Our great and powerful _king,"_ He spat the title, "Has made a change to the names of our powers."

Clockwork turned his head slightly, catching Time Twister looking terrified. It was obvious; this was their fault. Father Time would hardly care about what they had done to Mary, but how it affected him… the Time Master's rage was something the whole Ghost Zone feared. Clockwork could only hope it wasn't some absolutely ridiculous name which couldn't be traced back to him. Pariah wouldn't be that cruel, would he?

"He said that there would be at least one of you who could tell me the reason behind this," Clockwork leaned in closer to Tardis, who gripped his arm tighter. "So tell me, who gave him the idea to official change Powers of Time to _Timey Powers?_"

Silence.

"I'm waiting," Father Time said, looking over the others. Clockwork smiled with relief as he did so. Timey powers was a ridiculous name, sure, but it had no relation to him. He was safe.

"Timey?" Tardis was whispering under his breath, "That's… his nickname…"

It was then that Clockwork noticed how terrified Time Twister looked.

One by one, pieces fell into place and Clockwork knew exactly what Pariah had done. He'd changed the name to Time Twister's nickname, putting him at blame. He wasn't wrong, of course, but Pariah didn't know what it was like. He didn't really know what it felt like, what Father Time could do to them…

There were laws in place, ones which protected Clockwork from the majority of Father Time's abilities. Pariah had been fighting for years to break the one rule which said that a ghost with a Power of Time had to be in the Master of Time's care or face death from the Observants. The Observants had bent on nearly everything he'd asked before out of fear, but none of them would budge. Other than that rule, Pariah had shaped and molded them as he please- but Time Twister and Tardis were not safe from Father Time, not unless one of them thought they were strong enough to defeat Father Time. But they weren't. If Time Twister was found to be the reason behind this change, Father Time could kill him and nobody would be able to stop him without starting a war.

Time Twister could die because he'd done the stupid thing with the fish. In a way, it was Clockwork's fault- if he'd said no, if only he hadn't let himself be bribed into helping, nobody would be in danger now. This was his fault.

And so he had to fix it.

Clockwork noticed Time Twister staring at him and he pulled his arm from Tardis's grasp. She quietly said his name- his _human_ name- but Clockwork barely noticed. He barely cared.

_I'm going to regret this._ "It was me."

Father Time turned, and the other apprentices did as well. Clockwork didn't look at Tardis, knowing she was surely disappointed in him. "What was that?" The Master of Time said.

"I told him to do it, but I meant it as a joke." Clockwork said, digging his nails into his palms. He was shaking, he was sure of it. "I didn't think he actually would."

"…Clockwork," Time Twister whispered, and Clockwork turned towards him. Time Twister stood, looking at Father Time, "May I be the one to explain this, sir?"

_He's just in character, _Clockwork chanted to himself as Father Time gave his permission. _He has to be, he has to keep himself safe. He's just in character._

Time Twister made his way to Clockwork's side, taking a deep breath before launching into his lecture.

Time Twister had to know Clockwork had done this to save him, he had to! But even after Father Time had taken Tardis and Castalia away for something and everyone had awkwardly left, Time Twister was still nearly yelling at him.

When Time Twister finally finished, Clockwork stared him in the eye. "You're welcome." He said, and then he left.

.-.-.-.-.-.

Mary stormed in, staring up at her husband and interrupting his conversation with Fright Knight. "Timey Powers? _Really?!_"

At Mary's outburst, Raine chocked on the piece of fruit she'd been pretending she wasn't eating. Fright Knight inched away, giving the couple some room.

"Yep!" Pariah grinned, ignoring his maid in the corner of the room. "It's Time Twister's nickname. I thought it'd be funny."

"Funny? You thought making ridiculous laws and managing to anger every remotely powerful being in the Ghost Zone to be _funny?!_" Mary continued shouting, "The laws are not something you get to shape how you please. You are the king, and it is your job to look out for your subjects, not make them angry!"

"Hey," He held up his hands, "I can't please everyone!"

"But you sure know how to anger everyone." Raine's voice was barely loud enough to hear. "Everyone's already unhappy with what you've done. You are going to start a war."

"You are my maid," Pariah growled, one hand moving towards the ring and crown he always kept with him. "Your opinion doesn't matter."

Raine turned, not afraid of the situation she was in. "My status does nothing for my voice. If you make another mistake like this, the Ghost Zone will revolt." She stared at Mary for a few long moments, "And I won't be the one who cleans up the disaster which comes next."

"There won't be a disaster," Pariah waved her off, "Now go… clean something. Be useful, would you?"

Raine stared at him for a few moments longer before turning on her heel and leaving, just as he had suggested.

"Don't punish her; she's right." Mary said softly, "You're going to get us all killed."

"No I'm not," Pariah replied. "I know what I'm doing Mary, and you're the one who wanted me to punish them."

"Not like this," She said. "This isn't going to do more than make everyone furious. It doesn't matter how many fancy artifacts you have then; you can't take on the entire Ghost Zone and expect to win!"

"I don't expect it, I know I will." He grinned, and Mary raised her eyebrows. "I was joking. I know what you mean, but it's just one little thing. It won't do more than embarrass them."

Mary was silent for a moment, "Pariah, we both know you don't believe that."

.-.-.-.-.-.

Someone knocked on the wall between Clockwork and Time Twister's rooms. Clockwork thought he'd imagined it, until he heard it again.

"What?" He whispered, "What do you want?"

Time Twister took it as an invitation to teleport into his room, setting a bowl of water down on the ground. "Come here."

"Why?" Clockwork grumbled, sliding onto the floor. "So you can yell at me again?"

"No, I- look, I owe you, okay?" He glanced down at the bowl of water, "It doesn't have to be water that you use, it's just what's easiest. Come here, take off your gloves- were you sleeping with those on?"

"Maybe," Clockwork replied, moving closer to Time Twister. "What are we doing?"

"I'm going to teach you how to view the time stream," He smiled, "I need the practice, anyway."

Clockwork immediately brightened up, nearly bouncing with excitement. "Thank you!"

"One condition," Time Twister said, silencing him. "You teach Tardis too."

"I was going to do that anyway," He leaned forwards, "Come on, tell me what to do!"

It was strange what throwing fish at the ghost queen could teach someone. Some might saw that it was even a bit fishy.

* * *

><p>Haha that's such a dumb last line. I love it.<p>

So, it has been asked if Clockwork would ever tell this story to Danny. The answer? Not likely.

Time Twister is believed to have died from the injuries caused by saving Clockwork from Fright Knight when war breaks out and Pariah attacks the Time Tower. Which was a really dumb move on his part because it pushed Clockwork to change sides. Though, no one found his body. No one found any bodies from that battle and just assumed they'd all dissolved into ectoplasm. The Observants just sort of decided that since Clockwork was the only one left, he'd get to be Master of Time. As Connections readers already know and SOS Text readers will soon learn, they were wrong but that's not the point.

My point is this whole situation is beyond touchy for Clockwork. It makes him uncomfortable and upset, and he doesn't like to admit what he did for a tiny bit of training. So he pretends it didn't happen- if anything, Danny would hear the bare bones of the story from Frostbite, and then go to Clockwork who would likely deny it ever happened.

So, that's all folks. What do you think? Would you like to see more of the shenanigans younger Clockwork and the others get up to? Is there anything in particular which was mentioned that you'd like to see more of, or anyone? Let me know your thoughts! :D


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